Yes, another Tudor book

LADY JANE GREY: A TUDOR MYSTERY by Eric Ives, 2009.
Tudor history expert Ives takes on the story of the tragedy of Jane Grey and the 1553 crisis surrounding the English throne in this biography. Well written and researched, the author has thoroughly sifted through the available sources and evidence and presents a factual, interesting narrative of her life. He covers all the main events: birth, her place in the line of succession, Jane's brilliant education, her life with Thomas Seymour as his ward, including her brief time with her mentor Katherine Parr, her nearly fanatical Protestantism, her marriage to Guildford Dudley, the political intrigues which brought her to the throne, and the aftermath of Mary Tudor's coming to power. He avoids sentimentalizing Jane's life, and portrays her not traditionally as a victim of those around her (like Northumberland and her parents), but as a determined young woman who has a terrible situation thrust upon her and tries to make the best of it until she is removed from the throne, imprisoned, and within months executed. His portrayals of all the multiple well known characters involved in Jane's short life are well done and accurate: her parents, the power hungry Northumberland, the Catholic Mary Tudor, Edward VI, who struggled on his deathbed to rewrite history, the powerful but flawed Duke of Somerset, etc. At times, I admit I found the narrative dragged a bit, maybe a little too much detail, but overall, Ives has done an outstanding job of scholarship in presenting a compelling look at the tragedy that was Lady Jane's life. Definitely recommended for any who are interested in the Tudor period, and especially in Lady Jane Grey.

THE SERVANTS' QUARTERS by Lynn Freed, 2009.
A slight story, set in South Africa after World War II. Interesting and strange little story that concerns a young Jewish girl living with her mother, sister and comatose father down the hill from the Harding mansion. Cressida and her family are invited to live in the mansion's servants' quarters when they have to leave their home, and George Harding, a former RAF pilot who was injured and disfigured during the war, takes an interest in the intelligent and precocious girl. Eventually, she is hired by Harding to serve as a companion to his elderly mother and for his nephew and he appoints himself her mentor; however, his interest in her changes over the ensuing years. And as Cressida matures, her interest in Mr. Harding develops as well. Issues of class, status, and race add a sense of time and place to the story, and the author uses elements of Jane Eyre and Beauty and the Beast to good effect throughout. Well written and a pleasant read.

MURDER ON THE CLIFFS by Joanna Challis, 2009.
A pleasant little mystery set on the coast of Cornwall in 1921, a young woman is found dead on the beach by none other than the visiting Daphne du Maurier. She also discovers a lovely young girl near the body as well, young Lianne Hartley, whose handsome brother, David, was to marry the victim. The Hartleys are local gentry, and occupy an Elizabethan mansion high on the cliffs known as Padthaway (can anyone say Manderley?). Daphne, before she knows it, is deeply involved with the mystery of Victoria Bastion's death (murder, it turns out) and with the Hartley family with all their bizarre personalities and odd servants. Secrets and clues abound, and everyone is not what they seem in this tidy little mystery. While it is an interesting device to have Daphne du Maurier as a sort of detective, Challis' descriptions of the Cornwall area are nicely done, and Daphne's musings about ideas for writing novels are clever, I cannot say this was any more than adequately satisfying. It was a fine cozy mystery, no more, no less, and I'd recommend it as that. Will I read more in the series? Not sure about that.

I watched "The Ghost Writer" the other night on DVD and found it quite entertaining. Based on a book by Robert Harris (which I haven't read) and directed by Roman Polanski, it boasts a top knotch cast: Pierce Brosnan, Evan McGregor, Olivia Williams, and Kim Cattrall. The story, a bit convoluted and sometimes murky, concerns a former British prime minister, Adam Lang (Brosnan), who is writing his memoirs using a ghost writer. The writer is found dead under mysterious circumstances, and McGregor's character, a ghost writer, is chosen to work with Lang to finish the memoir. Unfortunately, McGregor is thrust into an environment of dark secrets and those who wish to keep those secrets under wraps, and as he becomes more involved in the lives of Lang and his wife, Ruth, and uncovers information concerning Lang's past and about the previous ghost writer who died, his own life is endangered. A human rights scandal involving Lang suddenly becomes public: that Lang was connected with the kidnapping and torturing of four terrorists while Prime Minister; the pressure becomes more urgent to finish the memoir and keep up appearances. And that's just the beginning...Polanski does a good job with keeping the viewer guessing and building suspense in layers, as there are twists and turns and the characters' actions at times are totally bizarre. McGregor's character is interesting enough to keep watching as he puzzles things out, Olivia Williams is superb as the acidic and intelligent wife with her own dark secret, and Kim Cattrall doing a sort of British accent is decently watchable. As for the ending of the film, it hits you right between the eyes with no warning at all. A very Hitchcockian sort of film overall, and it indeed kept me glued to my seat. If you like Hitchcock, political thrillers, or suspense films, this is definitely worth the time.